A friend asked me a few weeks back if I would be putting any Thanksgiving recipes on the LCK blog in time for her to make them this year. My internal knee-jerk reaction encompassed every single reason that I couldn’t, leading with, “I have to do those recipes a couple of weeks before I post them,” and sailing all the way through, “and it’s silly, not to mention expensive, to make Thanksgiving food twice in one month just so I can take pictures of it.”
Thankfully, and before I said any of that out loud, I remembered some advice given to me by David Cooper a couple of years ago. His family owns several restaurants locally including Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. He told me his philosophy is, “The answer is yes. Now, what’s the question?” Smart man.
So yes, I’m happily sharing my Thanksgiving Turkey, Cornbread Dressing, and Thanksgiving Gravy recipes. (You already have my favorite Cranberry Orange Relish.) These recipes are thoroughly tested and sound, but I haven’t taken pictures yet. I’ll be using stock photos initially, and will replace them with my own just as soon as I can get them. I trust you’ll forgive me. After all, don’t we all pretty much know what turkey and dressing looks like already? (Goals: don’t make things harder than they have to be.) Feel free to job out sides, rolls, and desserts to others. Guests actually want to contribute.
So, let’s talk turkey! Every foodie thing you read will tell you to brine your turkey. The vast majority of us will be cooking commercially-raised turkeys for Thanksgiving. Most of those will have “up to a 10% added salt solution”, meaning that, effectively, those turkeys are already brined, letting you off the brining hook completely, if you like. Even so, it’s still possible to wind up with an unfortunately dry turkey. I’m not having that, and neither are you. Read on.
First, I wouldn’t dream of buying a turkey larger than about 12-14 lbs., max. A 12 lb. whole turkey should feed about 8 adults and still provide leftovers. If you think you need more than that, don’t buy a 20 lb. turkey. Instead buy one 12-14 lb. turkey, and an additional bone-in turkey breast. Most of your guests ask for breast meat anyway. Pound for pound a turkey breast serves more people than a whole turkey because the meat-to-bone ratio is much lower. Also, the leftovers are easier to use.
Second, your Thanksgiving turkey’s best friend is a baking bag. You can find them this time of year on the aisle with the foil and plastic wrap. They usually come two to a box. The recipe below tells you exactly what to do with the bag, and so does the box it comes in. These are foolproof and deliver juicy and beautifully browned results every time.
Don’t stress over Thanksgiving Gravy! I’m going to tell you how to do it. It’s easy to get delicious gravy with just a few simple steps. (Many people think gravy is the best part of Thanksgiving.)
Here in the Way Deep South, we don’t stuff our turkeys. We make dressing instead. What’s the difference, you ask? Well, we don’t put it inside the turkey for one thing, and it’s made with cornbread. I make the same Thanksgiving dressing my mom has made my whole life. It’s great, everybody loves it, but I’ve made one modification, and I’m not at all sure my mother approves. I add sausage: regular, crumbled-up, browned, breakfast bulk sausage. This is totally optional. I can’t remember why I first added sausage, but somehow it became necessary after that. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether you’re a sausage family or not.
Happy Thanksgiving!
NOTE: The images above belong to Southern Living and are used without permission. I will replace them with my own images as soon as they’re available. The watercolor turkey is by Eyre Tarney.
Thanksgiving Turkey
Ingredients
For the turkey:
- 1 12-14 lb. thawed turkey, or a 6-7 lb. turkey breast Thaw in the refrigerator. Allow one day of thawing for every 4-5 lbs.
- 1 each apple, orange, and onion, all quartered, all seeds discarded
- salt and pepper
- olive oil or soft butter
- 1 large oven bag
- 3 T. flour for dusting the bag
- A roasting pan large enough to hold the turkey
Instructions
- First you'll need to figure out when to put the bird in the oven. Figure cooking time at 20 minutes per pound. Then add two hours more--an hour for the turkey to come up to room temperature before you cook it, and another hour for it to rest when it comes out of the oven. (If you're cooking a whole turkey and a breast, figure the time for each. You may want to put one in the oven earlier than the other so they finish at the same time. They will need to go in separate bags and roasting pans. Make sure to use pans that will fit in your oven together.)
- You'll be using the lowest rack in your oven to roast the bird, so remove the top rack for now. Preheat the oven to 350°. Remove the giblets from the turkey. There will likely be some in both the neck cavity and abdominal cavity. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!
- Salt and pepper the cavity well, then put the quartered apple, orange, and onion in the cavity. Rub the turkey all over with the oil or butter.
- Open the baking bag and add the flour. Hold the bag closed and shake to coat the interior with flour. Carefully slide the turkey into the bag horizontally. Put the bagged turkey in the roasting pan and close the bag with the tie provided. Using scissors or kitchen shears, cut three 2-inch slits in the bag to allow steam to escape. Roast in the preheated oven for the allotted time.
- When the turkey is done, take it out of the oven, and open the bag very carefully. It's crucial that you don't spill the accumulated drippings, you need them for the gravy. Enlist an adult to help you. Put the turkey on a cutting board or platter, and loosely tent with foil. Pour the drippings in a large measuring cup. Let the turkey rest for an hour while you finish any sides in the oven.
Turkey Gravy
Ingredients
- 4 T. butter
- drippings from roasting a turkey
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- Up to 1 quart chicken stock, as needed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium low heat, add the turkey drippings. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Add the wine and whisk until the mixture is a thick paste. This will happen quickly. Add the stock a little at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.
- Continue to whisk in stock until it's the consistency you want. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm over very low heat. Serve.
Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 lb. bulk sausage (optional)
- 1 stick butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 recipe plain cornbread mix--use a single 6 oz. packet, but read the ingredients, you want one without sugar--cooked according to package directions and crumbled
- 8 oz. Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing
- 1 t. salt
- ½ T. pepper
- 1 quart chicken stock
Instructions
- Brown the sausage if using, drain the fat, remove the sausage from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, melt the butter and cook the onion and celery until they're wilted.
- In a large bowl, combine the crumbled cornbread and the Pepperidge Farm Stuffing. Add the drained sausage if using. Scrape the onions and celery into the bowl with all of the melted butter, plus the salt and pepper. Pour the chicken stock over all of that and combine well. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Put dressing in greased 9 x 11 casserole dish. The recipe can be made even a few days ahead to this point.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350° and bake for 30 minutes or until the dressing is hot at the center.
- Dressing can be made a couple of days ahead and refrigerated unbaked. Be sure to take the refrigerated dressing out at least 30 minutes ahead of baking to allow it to come to room temperature.
I think you need to use more than 2 stalks of celery in the dressing.
Haha! Hi Mom! I have always only used two. How many do you use?
Think I have to go with your mother. Since I can’t use onions and have to go with onion powder, I’ll throw in a little extra celery.
I can see that. Happy Thanksgiving!